Rubber compound paving block



May 18 1926. 1,585,386

' R. F. HERRICK RUBBER COMPOUND PAVING BLOCK Filed May 14, 1925 Patented ltlay lid, 1926..

issssse RUFUS F. HERRICK, OF WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

RUBBER COMPGUND PAVING BLOCK.

Application filed May 14, 1825. Serial No. 30,892.

This invention relates to an improved rubber compound paving blecl: or slab for roadways, and furtherthe invention relates to an improved roadway of which the said paving blocks constitute the uppermost surface, the same being an improvement upon the invention disclosed by me in my application Serial No. 738,018, filed September 16, 1924. entitled Rubber compound paving bloclr.

The object of the invention is to provide a paving block preferably constructed of a rubber compound, said pavin block being readily and cheaply manufactured and quickly and easily laid to constitute the uppermost surface of a roadway, said roadway being practically noiseless when vehicles pass thereover, and extremely comfortable for the occupants of said vehicle, the rubber compound surface being yielding, and further, the paving blocks are lighter than the granite paving blocks in common use and impart less vibration.

The rubber compound of which my improved paving blocks are constructed ma contain fibrous material and may be constructed from old scrap rubber and fabric automobile tires. The paving block constituting this invention is preferably of rectangular outline and approximately an inch and a half thick, and upon the under side of said bloclr a plurality of anchoring projections are provided, said projections being formed integral with said block and extending longitudinally thereof and transversely of the roadway of which they form the uppermost surface.

The anchoring projections are preferably tapered, the opposite faces thereof converging downwardly from the under face of the paving block, and extending transversely of the paving block and also transversely of the anchoring projections are a plurality of grooves, the latter being formed in the under surface of said paving block and extending above said projections. The paving block is laid. upon a layer of temporarily plastic material such as sand cement mortar, asphalt sand mixture, or any other suitable combination of materials well known in roadway construction, and sufficient weight is applied to said paving block to force the anchoring projections of said paving block into said temporarily plastic material, and the latter into the grooves in the under sur-. face of said paving block, and when said plastic material is hardened, said paving block will be firmly imbedded within said material and will cohere thereto.

it is evident that the anchoring projections may have the opposite faces thereof parallel, and the grooves in the under surface of said paving block may pass entirely above or cut into said anchoring projections at different heights without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The paving block, moreover, may be moulded w h a roughened under surface, the surface of the projections may also be roughened, if it is so desired in order to increase the cohesion between said paving block and the material in whichsaid block is in'ibedded.

The invention consists in an improved paving bloclr for roadways and in a roadway of which aid paving locks form the uppermost layer, all as hereinafter set forth in the specification and particularly as pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is an underneath plan view of a paving block embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the paving block. b

- Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. f is a sectional view illustrating a portion of a roadway with a paving block embodying my invention incorporated therewith." I

Fig. 5 is a transverse section similar to Fig. 3 illustrating a modified embodimentof my invention.

Like numeralsrefer to like parts through out the several views of the drawings.

In the drawings, referring to F1gs. 1 to f inclusive, 5 is a paving block of rubber compound'which consists of a body portion 6 having ribs 7 constituting anchormg pro- 'jections extending longitudinally thereof and along the under surface thereof. ljVhen the paving blocks 6 are laid to form the up per surface of a roadway, the ribs 7 extend transversely of the roadway. The paving blocks 5 are preferably constructed of a rubber compound but may have a mineral aggregate consisting of sand or crushed stone incorporated therein, or said paving blocks may be constructed with a fibrous material therein so that old scrap rubber and discarded automobile tires may be used for the purpose. 7 p

The ribs or projections 7 have opposite faces 7 which preferably converge downwardly, thus making it easy to mould the blocks of rubber compound. The ribs 7 are arranged in series, preferably parallel to each other and spaced apart both longitudinally and transversely of the block, thus leaving spaces 8 and 9 therebetween, and also the outer ends of said ribs are spaced apart from the ends of the block so as to provide spaces 10 between the outer ends of said ribs and the adjacent ends of said block, the object of this arrangement and construction being to permit a temporarily plastic material 11, such as. sand cement mortar or asphalt sand mixture, into which said ribs project in the completed roadway, to enter these spaces 8, 9 and 10, and thus lock said paving blocks against movement either longitudinally or transversely thereof.

In order to more securely anchor the paving blocks 5 in the layer of temporarily plastic material 11, grooves 12 are pr vided in the under surface of said block, and grooves extending transversely of said block and of said ribs 7. The grooves 12 extend above the ribs 7 thereby forming passageways 13 thereabove, and opposite faces 12 of said grooves converge downwardly and when the paving block is laid upon the material 11 in its plastic condition and pressure is applied downwardly upon said paving block, said plastic material will be forced u wardly into and will fill said grooves and passageways, and after said material las set and hardened, the paving blocks will be securely anchored tosaid material and will be prevented from being lifted therefrom.

The roadway is constructed by first constructing a layer of macadain, or other suitable material 14, and upon this layer, which constitutes a base, is superimposed a layer of sand cement n'iortar 11 or asphalt sand mixture, which constitutes a. cushion, and while said'mortar is soft or temporarily plastic, and before it sets, the paving blocks 5 are laid thereon, the ribs 7 of said paving blocks being forced into the layer 11 of sand cement mortar and the latter also being forced into the grooves 12. of the paving block while the mortar is plastic and soft, pressure preferably being applied. to the paving block by means of a light road roller.

After the paving blocks have been laid, as setforth with the ribs projecting downward ly therefrom into the layer of material 11, and with the latter also projecting upwardly into the grooves 12 and after said material has set and hardened, the paving block is securely locked to the layer of material 11 and the latter will be firmly positioned upon and locked to the macadam base The joints between adjacent blocks may be filled with sand, or bitumen or rubber com-- pound.

\Vhile the material of which the paving block is composed has been hcreinbcfore set forth as a rubber compound, it is evident that without departin from the spirit of this invention any material which can be moulded into the form of a paving block with anchoring projections thereon and with grooves in the under surface thereof wor d be the equivalent of rubber, so far as t1 invention is concerned, and it is to be understood that I do not confine my invention to a paving block of rubber compound, but although rubber is the preferred form, the paving block may be composed of other compounds, such, for example as aspha t or bi tiuninous compounds.

It will also be understood that tl e article of this invention is not confined SPGtflilCflllf, to a paving block for streets, but may be used with modifications as to thickness, etc. for what is known as industrial tiles.

In Fig. 5 a modified embodiment of nor invention illustrated, in which a groove does not cut into the ribs '7' in passing there-- above, and said ribs are, therefore, not wee ened by the presence of said grooves. In other respects, the paving block illustrated. in Fig. 5 is exactly like that of Figs. 1 to l inclusive.

I claim 1. A paving block for roadways compr sing a body portion provided upon its under side with a series of ribs forn'ied inte therewith, said body portion also being p; .1 vided upon its under side with grooves therein, said grooves extending transversclv of and above said ribs. U

2. l1 paving block for roadways coinprising a body portion provided with a series of ribs formed integral therewith and projecting downwardly therefrom, said ribs be ing spaced apart both transversely and longitudinally of said block, said body portion also being provided with grooves therein, said grooves extending transversely of and above said ribs.

' 3. A. paving block for roadways comprising a body portion provided with anchoring projections formed integral therewith on the under face thereof, said face of said body portion also being provided with grooves therein, said grooves intersection, and extending above said projections. 4. A paving block for roadways cmnprising a body portion provided with anchoring pro ections formed integral therewith on the under face thereof, said face of said body portion also being provided with grooves therein, said grooves extending transversely of and forming passageways above said projections.

5. A paving block for roadways comprs ing a body portion provided with anchoring projections tapered in cross section and formed integral therewith on one face then of, the opposite faces of said tapered projections converging downwardly and said projections being spaced apart both transversely and longitudinally of said paving block, said face of said body portion also being provided with grooves therein, said grooves intersecting and extending above said projections.

6. A paving block for roadways comprising a body portion provided with anchoring projections tapered in cross section and formed integral therewith on one face thereof, the opposite faces of said tapered pro jections coi'lverging downwardly and said projections being spaced apart both transversely and longitudinally of said paving block and also spaced apart from the op posite ends of said block, said face of said body portion also being provided with grooves therein, said grooves extending transversely of and forming passageways above said projections.

7. A paving block for roadways comprising a body portion of rubber compound with anchoring projections of rubber, tapered in cross section and formed integral therewith on one face thereof, the opposite faces of said tapered anchoring project-ions converging downwardly, and said projections being spaced apart, the under surface of said body portion being provided with grooves therein, said grooves extending transversely of and above said projections.

8. A roadway comprising a layer of temporarily plastic material and a layer superimposed thereon and having anchoring projections projecting from the under surface of the body portion thereof into said tenaporarily plastic material, said body portion of said layer also being provided with grooves therein, said grooves extending transversely of and above said projections,

said temporarily plastic material also projecting into saic grooves.

9. A roadwa coin )risin a la er of tourporarily plastic material, a layer superimposed thereon and provided with anchoring ribs formed integral therewith and projecting from the under surface thereof into said temporarily plastic material, the body portion of said layer also being provided with grooves therein, said grooves extending transversely of and above said ribs, said temporarily plastic material also projecting into said grooves and above said ribs.

10. A roadway comprising a layer of temporarily plastic material and a layer of rubber compound superimposed thereon and provided with anchoring ribs tapered in cross section and formed integral therewith upon the under face thereof, said ribs being spaced apart both longitudinally and transversely of said roadway and projecting into said temporarily plastic material, said layer of rubber compound being provided with grooves in the under surface thereof, said grooves extending transversely of and above said ribs, said temporarily plastic material projecting into said grooves and above said ribs.

11. A paving block for roadways comprising a body portion provided with a series of separate ribs formed integral therewith on the under face thereof, said ribs being spaced apart both transversely and longitudinally of said block and being provided with openings extending therethrough.

12. A paving block for roadways comprising a body portion provided with anchoring projections formed integral therewith on the under face thereof, said projections being spaced apart both transversely and longitudinally of said block and having openings extending transversely therethrough.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

RUFUS F. HERRIGK- 

